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Monday, December 01, 2008

The Essential Neil Young

Sometimes folks ask us about where to start with Neil Young and his music?

Of course, that's a tough one. A logical place to start is the 1977 triple LP album Decade. The 34-song set traces Neil Young's growth from Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young to Crazy Horse to his Harvest band, the Stray Gators. The definitive retrospective of Young's career. Unreleased tracks and hits--Springfield's "Mr. Soul," CSNY's "Ohio," and Young's "Cinnamon Girl," "Heart of Gold," and the plaintively beautiful "Campaigner".

For films, the essential viewing is Neil Young's Heart of Gold Film (reviews). Academy-award winning director Jonathan Demme beautifully captures Rock & Roll Hall of Fame legend, Neil Young as he prepares and presents the performance of a lifetime with the help of his wife Pegi and friends country star Emmylou Harris, steel guitarist Ben Keith and more at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry.

Another essential Neil Young film, is -- of course -- Rust Never Sleeps (reviews). Neil Young's 1978 concert tour, documented in this acclaimed two-hour film that was directed by Young himself (using the pseudonym Bernard Shakey), is a treat for the singer-songwriter's fans. The concept of the show is high (for Young, anyway), if rather odd: roadies (here called "Road Eyes") decked out like the Tusken Raiders from Star Wars, stage announcements from the original Woodstock during set changes, and giant amps, microphones, and so on for an "Incredible Shrinking Man" effect. Of course, it's the music that counts, and there's plenty of that, what with nearly 20 songs (including two versions of "Hey Hey, My My," his nod to the punk movement), acoustic and electric (with longtime companions Crazy Horse), dating back to his Buffalo Springfield days ("I Am a Child") and continuing through popular solo numbers like "Cinnamon Girl" and the extended "Like a Hurricane." DVD bonus material includes photos and song lyrics. --Sam Graham

Readers of "Neil Young: Long May You Run" have plenty of musical selections from the book's subject matter to choose from when selecting companion listening material to go along with the new book.

Young has released 46 albums in his own right over the course of his four decades-plus solo career, plus another dozen as part of Buffalo Springfield and as one quarter of Crosby, Stills Nash and Young.

"Decade" (two disc compilation, 1977: "I will take one cheap out. That's more fair than the (multi-disc) ‘Archive' set (released in 2009)."

"Ragged Glory" (1990): "You can say a lot of great things about (1975's) ‘Tonight's the Night,' but 'Ragged Glory' is the fullest realized Crazy Horse album of all of them."

"Unplugged" (1993): " 'Ragged Glory' gives you the (rock) side, ‘Unplugged' would give me the (acoustic) side, and ‘Decade' would give me my capability to have the greatest hits."

Dan Durchholz

"Rust Never Sleeps" (1979): "This was the album that showed me that Neil Young was not merely going to fade away with the rest of his peers that came up in that second wave of rock stars. He was acknowledging growing older and, at the same time, he was name-checking Johnny Rotten."

"Tonight's The Night": "When it came out, nobody had any idea what the heck he was up to. And I like that aspect of his career. He's willing to vex his entire listenership no matter the cost, if that's what feels right to him."

"Ragged Glory": "That record showed he wasn't going to go quietly into the night. He rocked as hard as he ever did on that record and, again, it's a Neil Young that's growing older, but still proving that he has what it takes."